From Java to Ruby: Things Every Manager Should Know

Bruce A. Tate0976694093, 9780976694090

As a development team, you want to be productive. You want to write flexible, maintainable web applications. You want to use Ruby and Rails. But can you justify the move away from established platforms such as J2EE? Bruce Tate’s From Java to Ruby has the answers, and it expresses them in a language that’ll help persuade managers and executives who’ve seen it all. See when and where the switch makes sense, and see how to make it.If you’re trying to adopt Ruby in your organization and need some help, this is the book for you.Based on a decision tree, (a concept familiar to managers and executives) Java to Ruby stays above the low-level technical debate to examine the real benefits and risks to adoption.Java to Ruby is packed with interviews of Ruby customers and developers, so you can see what types of projects are likely to succeed, and which ones are likely to fail. Ruby and Rails may be the answer, but first you need to be sure you’re asking the right question. By addressing risk and fitness of purpose, Java to Ruby makes sure you’re asking the right questions first.Because technology adoption is only the beginning, Java to Ruby walks you through the whole lifecycle of prototype, ramp up, and production and deployment.

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Table of contents :
Introduction……Page 11
The Emergence of Ruby……Page 12
The Java Platform Is Weakening……Page 14
Early Adopters Embrace Ruby……Page 15
The Process……Page 18
Executive Summary……Page 23
The House of Pain……Page 24
Poor Productivity……Page 27
Long Ramp-Up……Page 36
A Look at Risk……Page 38
Executive Summary……Page 43
Momentum……Page 44
Productivity……Page 47
Cost……Page 56
Ramp-Up……Page 59
Risk……Page 65
Looking Ahead……Page 67
Executive Summary……Page 68
Building Your Plan……Page 69
Scenario 1: Classic Pilot……Page 71
Scenario 2: Trojan Horse……Page 75
Scenario 3: Race……Page 78
Scenario 4: Bet-your-Business: Basecamp……Page 81
Scenario 5: Rescue……Page 82
Executive Summary……Page 85
Overview……Page 86
The Basics……Page 87
Web Development……Page 90
Rails……Page 93
Middleware……Page 97
Looking Ahead……Page 100
Executive Summary……Page 101
Road Maps……Page 102
Scenarios……Page 104
Ruby to Java Bridges……Page 115
JRuby……Page 117
Service-Oriented Architectures……Page 122
Executive Summary……Page 128
Building Your Staff……Page 129
Building Skills Internally……Page 133
Short-Term Augmentation……Page 136
Preparing the Way……Page 138
A Brief Word about Deployment……Page 140
Executive Summary……Page 144
Bad Risk……Page 145
Mitigating Technical Risk……Page 148
Mitigating Political Risk……Page 153
What’s Ahead for Ruby?……Page 155
Bibliography……Page 157